1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method, and more particularly to an ink jet recording method wherein two liquids of a reaction solution and an ink composition are deposited onto a recording medium to perform printing.
2. Background Art
Ink jet recording is a printing method wherein droplets of an ink composition are ejected and deposited onto a recording medium such as paper to perform printing. This method has a feature that images having high resolution and quality can be printed at a high speed by means of relatively inexpensive apparatuses. In general, the ink composition used in the ink jet recording comprises water as a main component and, added thereto, a colorant and a wetting agent, such as glycerin, for preventing clogging and other purposes.
On the other hand, regarding the ink jet recording method, the application of a polyvalent metal salt solution onto a recording medium followed by the application of an ink composition containing a dye having at least one carboxyl group has been recently proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 202328/1993). The claimed advantage of this method is that the polyvalent metal ion combines with the dye to form an insoluble complex, the presence of which can offer an image having good waterfastness and high quality free from color bleeding.
Further, the use of a color ink comprising at least a surfactant for imparting a penetrating property or a solvent having a penetrating property and a salt in combination with a black ink capable of being thickened or agglomerated through the action of the salt has been proposed in the art (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 106735/1994). The claimed advantage of this method is that high-quality color images having high image density and free from color bleeding can be yielded. Furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 2675001 proposes a recording method wherein a reaction solution containing a polyvalent metal salt and a dye ink containing an anionic group are deposited. Specifically, ink jet recording methods have been proposed wherein two liquids, a first liquid containing a salt and a second liquid of an ink composition, are printed to realize good images.
Furthermore, an ink jet recording method has also been proposed wherein a reaction solution containing a polyvalent metal salt and an ink composition containing a resin emulsion are deposited onto recording media to perform printing (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-207424).
The present inventors have now found that use of a reaction solution comprising at least a polyvalent metal salt, ammonia, and benzotriazole or a benzotriazole derivative in an ink jet recording method, wherein two liquids are printed, can realize good print quality and that the reaction solution possesses excellent storage stability and ejection stability. Furthermore, it has been found that this reaction solution does not attack a nozzle plate having thereon a eutectoid plating and use of the reaction solution in combination with an ink jet recording head provided with the nozzle plate having thereon a eutectoid plating enables stable printing without posing a problem of corrosion of the recording head for a long period of time. The present invention has been made based on such finding.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reaction solution which, when used in an ink jet recording method wherein two liquids are printed, can realize good print quality and, at the same time, possesses excellent storage stability and ejection stability.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording method, wherein two liquids are printed, using the reaction solution according to the present invention.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reaction solution for an ink jet recording method wherein droplets of an ink composition and droplets of a reaction solution, which produces an agglomerate upon contact with the ink composition, are ejected and deposited onto a recording medium to perform printing, the reaction solution comprising at least a polyvalent metal salt, ammonia, and benzotriazole or a benzotriazole derivative.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording method comprising the steps of: ejecting droplets of an ink composition and droplets of a reaction solution which produces an agglomerate upon contact with the ink composition; and depositing the droplets of the ink composition and the droplets of the reaction solution onto a recording medium to perform printing, wherein the reaction solution is one according to the present invention.